ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The BAV Division of
VSE Corporation (Nasdaq: VSEC) (hereafter referred to as VSE/BAV) announced
today that it had completed the reactivation of two ex-Kidd Class guided
missile destroyers. Harry Flammang, the Division Manager of VSE/BAV, said
the final of four ex-USS Kidd Class guided missile destroyers reactivated
in Charleston, South Carolina for the Taiwan Navy. The departure of these
ships for Taiwan draws to a close a successful, high-visibility program
that has spanned three years.
Overhaul Planning and Reactivation
VSE/BAV managed the successful reactivations as Prime Contractor to the
Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) for support of ships and systems
transferred under NAVSEA's Foreign Military Sales program. VSE Chairman,
President and CEO/COO Don Ervine commented, "Over ten years ago VSE/BAV
departed from the Navy's traditional business model for overhauling and
maintaining ships in favor of a more effective and efficient business model
that significantly reduces costs, improves and controls schedules, and
continuously delivers sound technical performance to our customers. This
business model coupled with strong systems integration capability and
exceptionally knowledgeable and talented team of people has allowed VSE/BAV
to complete the complex overhaul and reactivation of the four ex-USS Kidd
class guided missile destroyers in two and one-half years, which is well
ahead of schedule and under budget."
The ex-Kidd Class guided missile destroyers included the USS Kidd (DDG-
993), USS Scott (DDG-995), USS Callaghan (DDG-994), and USS Chandler (DDG-
996). Prior to reactivation, the ships had been stored at the Naval
Inactive Ship Maintenance Facilities at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and
Bremerton, Washington since being decommissioned from the U.S. Navy in the
late 1990s.
To restore these ships to full operational capability, VSE/BAV and its
21 subcontractors planned and performed in excess of 14,600 industrial work
items requiring more than 168,300 man days. The subcontractors included
Detyens Shipyards, Booz|Allen|Hamilton, Rolls-Royce, Raytheon, DRS, L-3
Communications/PACORD, B&D Boilers, Sullivan and Associates, Anteon, and
George C. Sharp. At one point in the project, three ships were in full
industrial production, with advance work being conducted on the fourth
ship.
Over the course of eleven years and 30 previous transfers, VSE/BAV has
used a process of ship systems reactivation that minimizes expense to the
customer. Systems are opened, inspected, the condition assessed and only
the components necessary for reactivation are procured. Reactivated systems
are subjected to extensive quality assurance tests and then fully tested
again during sea trials. The result is similar to a "just in time" business
strategy that minimizes expense to the customer by reducing the amount of
resources expended on unnecessary inventory and unneeded repair efforts,
while fully achieving the customer's operational requirements.
Rear Admiral Pu, Commander of Taiwan's Kidd Class Ship Transfer
Squadron, commented, "Many did not believe the four ships would be
delivered within the budget. At times, I had my doubts, but we all worked
together to deliver all four ships early and under budget."
System Upgrades
The industrial reactivation of these four ships included significant
repairs and modernization. Two sonar dome rubber windows had to be replaced
and all four of the SQS-53A sonars were upgraded to the SQS-53D (digital
version). Additionally, New Threat Upgrade (NTU) weapons systems were
modernized to shoot the Standard Missile 2, Block IIIA, the standard area
defense, anti-aircraft missile used by the U.S. Navy. The VSE/BAV team also
replaced 11 waste heat boilers, part of the DDG's power generation system,
reactivated all 28 of the ships' propulsion and electrical generator gas
turbines, installed two "Triple S" clutches that transfer power from the
gas turbines to the massive reduction gears, and installed the first ever
Close in Weapons System that combines two different model mounts on the
same ship.
While part of the U.S. Navy active fleet, the four ships received the
baseline NTU modernization to their Anti-Air Warfare System, an extremely
capable and complex system of sensors, computers, and advanced ordnance
systems. The last NTU ship, USS California (CGN 36), was decommissioned in
1999. Thus, active U.S. Navy support of the NTU system had ceased almost
five years prior to the start of this project. Reactivating this system
required exceptional ingenuity to ferret out sources of repair parts and
find people with the requisite skills to reactivate the ships' systems.
Crew Training
The VSE/BAV Team recruited extensively among ex-U.S. Navy technicians
and particularly among ex-USS Kidd Class sailors to staff not only the
project's industrial management team, but also a group of fifty people
hired as instructors and technical specialists directly supporting the
ships' crews. This team, referred to as the Ship Transfer Assistance Team,
or STAT, was almost entirely composed of retired U.S. Navy personnel who
averaged 20 years' experience on their respective systems. STAT personnel
were primarily used as instructors for training Taiwan crews, but they also
provided technical expertise to Taiwan Navy technicians who actively
participated in industrial work. In training the Taiwan crewmembers, the
STAT conducted 4,625 classes, comprising 19,574 instructor hours and
156,247 student hours. The STAT also produced 193,736 Personnel
Qualification Standards system signatures to validate Taiwan crewmembers'
progress.
The ships and their crews were subjected to a rigorous training
regimen. They received scrutiny similar to that which any U.S. Navy
combatant receives after emerging from a major industrial availability
period. The final inport and underway training was modeled on the U.S.
Navy's Tailored Ship Training Availability (TSTA) and Final Evaluation
Phase (FEP) format, including drill packages and exercises any U.S. Navy
Sailor would find familiar. Before that, the crews were taught theory in a
classroom setting, received extensive on the job training, and were
subjected to a tailored Personnel Qualification Standards (PQS) system. On
several occasions, actual U.S. Navy inspection teams were brought onboard
to evaluate the training of the crews and material condition of the ships,
particularly during the Light Off Assessments (LOA) for the ships'
engineering departments.
Mike Fahey, VSE/BAV's Waterfront Manager for the project, commented,
"The composition of the waterfront team is the finest group of
professionals I have ever seen. Their vast experience coupled with
exceptional managerial and technical skills epitomizes the finest qualities
of American character which is a credit to VSE/BAV Corporation."
In addition to the VSE/BAV Team's management and performance of the
industrial availability and crew training, it also provided extensive
logistical support including messing and berthing the Taiwan crews, and
procuring and warehousing all materiel required for both the industrial
work and ships' outfitting. Crew support entailed the feeding and berthing
of more than 1,500 Taiwan military members during the course of the
project. Industrial support required the receipt and issuance of more than
51,000 material line items.
Post-overhaul Testing
The ships, with their new crews, performed extensive post-overhaul
testing and sea trials, to ensure all systems were working to
specification. The culmination of these tests and trials was the successful
SM 2 Block IIIA live fire missile exercises, conducted by DDGs 1801 and
1802, off the Virginia coast in October 2005.
On November 1st, 2005, the first two ships, ROCS Kee Lung (DDG 1801)
and ROCS Su Ao (DDG 1802) departed Charleston for Taiwan, ahead of schedule
and under budget. Only ten months later, the remaining two ships, ROCS Tso
Ying (DDG 1803) and ROCS Ma Kung (DDG 1805) departed, again significantly
ahead of schedule and under budget.
VSE's International Group President Jim Knowlton said, "VSE/BAV has a
long relationship with the Taiwan Navy. Since 1997, we have participated in
the transfer of an ARS, two Knox class frigates, an Anchorage class LSD,
and now the four Kidd Class Destroyers. Each of these efforts has been
extremely successful and has significantly enhanced Taiwan's naval
strength. We look forward to our next opportunity to work with our Taiwan
Navy shipmates."
VSE provides diversified services to the engineering, energy and
environment, defense, and homeland security markets from more than 20
locations across the United States and around the world. For the six-month
period ending June 30, 2006, VSE reported consolidated revenues of $158
million and earnings of $3.5 million ($1.45 per diluted share). For more
information on VSE services and products, please see the Company's web site
at http://www.vsecorp.com or contact Len Goldstein, Director of Business
and New Product Development at (703) 317-5202.
News Contact: C. S. Weber, CAO, at (703) 329-4770.